After escaping Lengard and finding sanctuary with the Remnants, Alyssa Scott is desperate to save those she left behind — and the rest of the world — from the power-hungry scientist, Kendall Vanik. But secrets and lies block her at every turn, and soon Lyss is left questioning everything she has ever believed.

When long-lost memories begin to surface and the mysteries of her past continue to grow, Lyss battles to retain her hard-won control. Allies become enemies and enemies become allies, leaving her certain about only two things: when it comes to Speakers, nothing is ever as it seems . . . and the only person she can trust is herself.

~*~

Picking up almost immediately following the jaw-dropping events of Whisper, Alyssa Scott, who has awoken her Speaking ability, and started to make friends with the Remnants – Arryn, Kael, and the others who escaped Lengard with her, such as Cami, finds herself drawn into a world of more secrets. She discovers the truth about Lengard, and that it isn’t linked to the government as she has been told to believe. Now, she finds herself helping the Remnants as they try to stop Vanik and find a breakout Speaker when another group of Speakers appear. This group is not aligned with Lengard or the Remnants, and the deeper Lyss looks into things and starts to uncover secrets about her own past, and her family, she discovers that everything she has been told ever is not true.

Unsure of who to trust, Lyss is torn into memories of a past she’d been made to forget, and into the lives of people she thought dead for nearly three years. As people she thought she could trust become untrustworthy, loyalties are tested and those she thought were trying to hurt her prove otherwise, Lyss discovers the power and intent behind her words and thoughts – and how one word can change the world.

So this is part one of my blog tour, with a Q and A with the author to appear as well. I first interviewed Lynette during the Medoran Chronicles, and I’m looking forward to doing it again.

Here, Lynette has created a fractured world – where certain people are kept away supposedly for their own good and the safety of the world, whilst others work to find a different result. In this world, it very much mirrors our current world with technology, and the landmarks of Sydney, but with a twist. Xanaphan has affected at least two generations of people – in ways that could never have been expected. The world that this creates is one of secrecy that runs parallel to our own world, in our own Sydney.

It is a fractured world – much like ours in some ways, where those who are different are, or can be cut out of society because of a difference they’ve got no control or choice over. Both Whisper and Weapon reflect a situation that allows power to be abused in a myriad of ways, instead of working towards acceptance of diversity.

There were many things that I enjoyed about this book. The intrigue about Alyssa and her past, her friends and the situation keep the book going, as mysteries about Alyssa’s past are uncovered – it was the appearance of this strain of the story that had me the most excited as I wanted to find out more about Alyssa. Arryn and Cami were my favourites. Even though at first, Arryn was prickly, she was a fantastic character who, whilst keeping secrets – did so for what I felt were the right reasons – to make sure things went smoothly, rather than the other characters who lied for their own means. I liked that Arryn warmed to Alyssa naturally and slowly – rather than seeming to instantly befriend her as Landon, Cami and Kael did. This made it feel like Arryn had a better understanding of Alyssa, and I loved seeing how Arryn slowly revealed herself and made sure Alyssa was safe.

Lynette Noni cleverly pulls together the secrets and reveals things when we need to know them, which gives the duology its oomph, and made me want to read on to the end to find out what happens to the characters, and ultimately. who can be trusted. She also manages to shock the reader, with a certain event that I never saw coming – all the hints dropped didn’t suggest anything untoward and that made it all the more powerful. In today’s world, words have power – perhaps not exactly like they have in this story. But they can certainly have an impact that we don’t intend and can result in something that we never want to happen.

Another great book from Lynette Noni – and I have now read and own all her books. I can’t wait to see what happens next with Lynette, and I’ll be awaiting her next offering from Pantera Press, who introduced me to her books and the world of book reviewing, and I am very grateful for that experience.